A New Beginning
by doismundos
Summary: The war is over but there is no real escape from evil. Join Albus, Rosie, Scorpius and their new friends as a fresh battle with different allies, enemies and evils begins within the walls of Hogwarts. Warnings: There is a strong likelihood of instances of bullying in this fic so watch out if that kind of stuff bothers you. Rated T because I want to introduce couples later on.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N First of all a big thank you to eternalhappiness for introducing me to fanfiction in the first place and also to Sweethearts together whose amazing fic 'The Sister who Lived' was partly my inspiration to finally write a story of my own. This is my first ever fanfiction and reviews will be greatly appreciated. Enjoy:) **

Albus watched through the glass as his parents faces disappeared into the distance, when the train finally picked up enough speed that he couldn't see his family at all he began to take in his surroundings. He was standing in a train corridor with his cousin Rosie who was also only just pulling her gaze away from the window. Looked at each other and Albus felt as though they had a sort of an unofficial understanding of each others situations. Both were more excited then they had ever been but also just as anxious. Rosie was the first to speak up.

"Do you think we should find James or something" she asked. "Absolutely not" replied Albus. "Are you sur-" she began but was cut off by a blunt "yes". There was no way Albus was going to spend his first trip to Hogwarts in a small compartment with James and a whole lot of other second years who were just bound to tease and patronize him and Rosie. "Well okay then but lets get a move on or we wont have any choice" Rosie was right, it was ages until they found a compartment with enough spare seats and sitting inside the compartment was none other then Scorpius Malfoy. Rosie was hesitant and backed out a bit but Albus stepped past her and spoke. "Hey, do you mind if my cousin and I sit here?" Scorpius looked up and studied them for a moment with his blue-gray eyes considering Albus and Rosie. Albus was sure that Scorpius's father Draco Malfoy must have told Scorpius a great deal about Albus's family, what he wasn't sure of was the light that Mr Malfoy had explained it in. Was Scorpius going to abuse them or just tell them to leave? Albus hoped not because even James's compartment had to be full by now and he was pretty sure this was the last one.

After a moment Scorpius replied with a "um, yes I suppose so". Rosie let out a small sigh of relief which earned her a raised eyebrow from both Albus and Scorpius which caused all three of them to chuckle. Rosie and Albus put their luggage away and sat on the seats opposite Scorpius who looked back out the window with a small smile on his face. A moment later Scorpius spoke "you know" he started "I think our parents were aquatinted once". "Yes, your right" said Rosie "but um, I don't think they, err agreed on much". Rosie blushed. "Thats putting it lightly" said Albus. Rosie blushed even harder although Scorpius was still smiling.

Albus thought he couldn't see what all the fuss was about, Scorpius seemed okay to him. The three of them began to make conversation, they talked about their parents, siblings (although Scorpius had none he said he desperately wanted a little sister which made Rosie say "aww, thats so sweet" and then it was Scorpius's turn to blush), they talked about which subjects they were most eager to learn (Rosie spent a twenty minutes deliberating over this one because she couldn't make up her mind), what the feast would be like (Albus was told them everything James had ever told him about it not including the pies that stood up and whacked you on the nose if you took to long to eat them) and eventually they began to discuss the houses they wanted to be in.

The three of them discovered that all of their parents had put a considerable amount of pressure on their children to be in their old house. At least Albus and Rosie's parents were only half joking about their expectations but poor Scorpius was terrified of being put into anything but Slytherin. "Ill be in so much trouble if I'm not in Slytherin" he confessed, his voice getting a bit quieter "dad said he'd send me a howler if I don't get in". Albus and Rosie glanced at each other and Albus felt a knot of sympathy for the boy swell up in his stomach. "Well whatever house your in It wont matter to us will it Albus?" said Rosie "No" Albus replied. "Not at all". Scorpius was no longer smiling but his shoulders relaxed and he whispered a short "thank you". It suddenly occurred to Albus that Scorpius really had nothing to be afraid of. Wasn't the last thing his dad had told him before he left was that that the sorting hat let you choose your own house in the end? Albus opened his mouth to say so but then he quickly shut it again. Albus wasn't sure why but that information felt a little private to share with a boy he had only met a few hours ago. Sure he liked Scorpius well enough but Albus reasoned that Scorpius would end up in Slytherin anyway whether Albus told him about the choice or not. Maybe he would tell him after the sorting.

Rosie looked at her watch and squealed. "Oh, we must be nearly there!" she cried out. Scorpius pulled back the blinds and squinted out the window. "I cant see anything yet" he told them. They chatted for a while longer and when Albus's stomach had just begun to shamelessly growl at him with hunger he saw it. "Look there it is!" he shouted. The three of them got up and pressed their noses up against the window to get a better look. However all they got was a massive black silhouette with twinkling lights glowing on it. Eventually the train slowed, Albus and Scorpius pulled on their robes since Rosie was already changed and the three of them started walking down the corridors. When the train finally stopped the stepped out onto the platform. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments until they heard the cry of "firs yers, firs yers, FIRS YERS THIS WAY PLEASE" They followed the call until they were standing in front of an enormous man with a beard to match. He was looking down on them with welcoming beetle-black eyes that seemed to twinkle at you. "Ah Rosie, Albus!" said the man "Alright are yer?". "Fine thanks" said a grinning Albus. "And who's this ere, eh?" spoke Hagrid looking at Scorpius. "Er Scorpius Malfoy" Scorpius told him. "We met on the train" added Rosie. "Did ya now?" Said Hagrid with a slightly confused look. "FIRST YERS THIS WAY PLEASE, FIRST YERS!"

It wasn't long before all the first years were gathered around Hagrid. "You know him?" asked Scorpius to Albus. "Yep, he's a family friend" Albus told him. Then Rosie said "I know he looks frightening but he's really quite gentle". "Oh" was all Scorpius could say before Hagrid spoke again. "Right, now the lot o' ya can just follow me for now" and he trumped off into the distance. Hagrid's strides were so long that they were all out of breath by the time he stopped at the edge of a lake, and just across the lake was a towering, medieval looking castle. Hagrid instructed them to climb into row boats that pulled them the whole why to the castle on their own. Soon enough they were climbing up the steps where they met a tall severe looking teacher called Professor Sabri who seemed to be of Indian ethnicity. Sabri explained to them about what was expected of them at Hogwarts and the houses that they would be sorted into. It wasn't long before they were walking through the great hall and waiting for their turn to be sorted. Eventually Professor Sabri called out "Malfoy Scorpius". Albus whispered good luck and Rosie smiled at Scorpius encouragingly and gently pushed him forward. Albus watched as Scorpius stepped up, legs trembling and sat on the stool while Professor Sabri placed the old tired looking hat on his head. It was ages before the hat said anything but a long last it opened it mouth and roared out "GRYFFINDOR"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I got distracted and didn't upload for ages whoops. Sorry, I WILL try to be quicker okay? Also, I apologise for the size of this chapter (I honestly don't have much time on my hands) but I SWEAR the next one will be much longer:)**

"Gryffindor?" Albus thought. Scorpius Malfoy had been placed in Gryffindor? Albus couldn't get his head around it. After he got over the shock the first thing he felt was guilt, and then sympathy and then some more guilt. Albus watched as Scorpius pulled himself together and walked over to the Gryffindor table and seated himself next to an Asian boy with enormous glasses, gelled hair and an air of confidence that was hard to miss.

Charlie Maple was called up and sorted into Ravenclaw and happily bounced off to her designated table. Three more students were sorted into Ravenclaw, another two into Hufflepuff and one more into Gryffindor before Albus's name was called out. Albus's thoughts were still on Scorpius as he stepped up and took a seat on the three legged stool. Albus had been so sure the hat would have put Scorpius in Slytherin! But why hadn't it? His dad was usually never wrong about these type of things, the only explanation for Scorpius being sorted into Gryffindor was that he hadn't even bothered to consult the hat about which ever house he had wished to be in or that he had actually chosen to be in Gryffindor! Both theories seemed highly unlikely to Albus

He jumped when the hat was placed on his head. He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts of Scorpius he'd completely forgotten to be anxious. Albus remembered quickly enough however, when a voice started to speak in what seemed like the inside of his head. _Albus potter is it? _The voice inquired and without waiting for an answer it began speaking again, _I've been wondering when I'd get to sort you _it told him _right, so... you are brave that much is certain, clever also, patient but fiery if aggravated... very much like your mother in fact... _Albus was surprised, he was told by almost everyone he mostly resembled his father. The hat chuckled at this. _Looks can be deceiving... _it murmured. _Please, _Albus asked the hat, _Please I want to be in Gryffindor _he begged. _Well, _the hat replied _you are very well suited to the house... _Albus smiled to himself as the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR"

Albus grinned at lily, walked over to the Gryffindor table and made sure to sit on Scorpius's other side. He caught Scorpius's eye and they smiled at each other even though Albus could tell Scorpius's heart wasn't really in it. The boys watched as Rosie was sorted into Gryffindor in a heartbeat and sat to the left of Albus. Soon enough everyone was sorted and Professor Mcgonagall stood up to give the customary speech before anyone could eat. Rosie paid rapt attention to the headmistress's warnings about the forbidden forest and such but Albus and Scorpius found it difficult to pay much attention to the severe looking witch with empty stomaches.

Fortunately though, Mcgonagall clapped her hands and at once the empty plates were suddenly filled with hot steaming foods of all kinds that made Albus's stomach growl by just looking at it. There was a great clattering of knives and forks as everyone dug into the meal. It looked to Albus as if Scorpius was beginning to enjoy himself again, and he was just about to quietly mention this to Rosie but she beat him to it. "I think he'll be fine" She whispered into Albus's ear. Albus felt as though a bit of weight had left his shoulders. He nodded at Rosie in acknowledgment.

Albus looked to his right and noticed that Scorpius had started up a conversation with the older boy next to him who appeared to be a prefect. "And what about transfiguration, when do we start learning that?" Scorpius asked the boy. "Oh soon enough, but I expect you'll be starting off with quite simple stuff- you know like turning matchsticks into needles and such..." Said the boy grinning down on him. "Oh thats so cool!" squeaked Rosie which caused Albus to grin at Scorpius all over again. "Yes, it is isn't it" said the boy with a hint of amusement at Rosie's eagerness. The three of them started to discuss the classes and then eventually Quidditch teams until it was time to go to bed. They followed the prefect they had spoken too earlier (who's name turned out to be Spike) to the Gryffindor common room were they were told the password and promptly sent to bed.

Albus kicked his shoes off, climbed into his bed and fell asleep with out even bothering to change. He could barely wait till morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Urgh so the last chapter was supposed to have an authors note but I'm still getting used to uploading and editing my stuff on this site but it was basically just apologies and promises that I didn't keep so I'm kind of glad no one saw them:L Anyway I know this chapter is quite small but I'll make up for it by updating really quickly next time as the next chapter is all ready written down, all I have to do it type it:D Enjoy:) **

When Albus woke he found himself so comfortable that he put off getting up for a few minutes. Still lying down he pulled back his curtains some of the way and looked around. He could tell by everyone else's breathing or soft snores that Albus was the only one awake.

Albus would have been content to stay there in bed all day and watch the dust dance lazily in the morning sun but he was far too eager to try out breakfast after such a wonderful feast. He was also curious to find out what lessons he was having first so Albus got himself out of bed, dressed, grabbed his bag and left the dormitory.

He decided to wait in the common room for Scorpius and Rosie simply because it seemed rude not to.

Apart from a few third years there was no one else in the room. Albus checked his watch and wasn't surprised to find that it was still only a quarter past six. He had always been an early riser. Suddenly two tired looking girls appeared at the bottom of the staircase that lead to the girls dormitory. Albus recognized them from the sorting.

He remembered their names were Amy and Tallulah. At the same time Scorpius and Rosie turned up. "Good morning!" greeted Rosie brightly to everyone. "Can we go now?" asked Albus. He was very hungry. "Yeah I need some food in me too" agreed Scorpius.

The three turned to go but stopped when one of the two girls who had been previously muttering turned to speak up. "Hey, um do you mind if we join you?" asked Tallulah. "Oh sure" beamed Rosie. Albus guessed that Rosie would be glad to have some female company.

While the five of them walked down to the great hall Albus studied Amy and Tallulah. Amy was thin with fair skin and long blond hair pulled back by a read headband. She had a sweet heart shaped face with pink lips and pretty blue eyes. Amy was also clearly a shy girl mostly sticking by Tallulah's side and not saying much. Albus made a mental note to try to make friends with Amy.

Then Albus turned his attention towards Tallulah. Tallulah was not nearly as thin as Amy but had a small frame nonetheless. Tallulah's hair was a light brown colour and she let it hang lose in thick waves that reached her shoulder blades and framed her face. Tallulah has full lips and eyes the same shade as Amy's; a deep blue. Albus watched her chat with Scorpius and Rosie while trying to pull Amy into the conversation with some success.

During breakfast Albus discovered that Amy and Tallulah both muggle born, came from the same town and had been friends for years. When Albus's owl landed on the table with letters from home for Rose and himself Albus couldn't help but notice the way Amy's eyes filled with longing. "Whats it's name?" she asked him. "Rex" Albus told her "Awful name for an owl isn't it?" "Oh it could be worse" said Tallulah. Then Rosie said "What about poor old Pig?" "Pig?" asked Scorpius curiously. "Pig is our tiny old owl" Rosie explained. "Dad's had him for ages, anyway he's called Pigwidgen because my aunt thought it was cute..."

While Rosie continued to explain her pets weird names to Scorpius, Amy and Tallulah were cooing over Rex. It turned out Amy loved animals and was clearly much more confident then earlier this morning. Albus was asked numerous questions about his owl and then what it was like growing up in a wizarding family. Albus in turn, asked questions about muggle life. Albus had Tallulah explain basket ball (her old game) and made Amy explain the logistics of cooking without magic.

Eventually professor Sabri walked up to them and handed the five students their timetables. Their first class was transfiguration so the gobbled down what was left of their breakfast and headed off to find their classroom which was harder than it sounded. Albus was glad they had left the great hall early as it took them ages to find their classroom. The barely even made it on time because a few minutes later Professor Sabri was striding down the corridor with his crimson cloak billowing behind him and opening the door to let the first years in. Albus stepped inside and took a seat with his new friends and eagerly waited for his education in magic to finally begin.

**A/N Things move more quickly in the chapter I promise! Reviews (the good and the bad) keep me going so _please_ don't hesitate to leave something for me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N FINALLY got the fourth chapter up and I don't even have any excuses this time. Gosh. Anyway I apologise for being so slow but my head was suddenly graced with a field full of plot bunnies so chapter five will likely be up quicker than usual! Enjoy lovely readers:) **

Transfiguration turned out to be very difficult. At least it seemed that way to Albus, Tulluah and Amy. Scorpius and Rosie didn't appear to have any trouble at all. In-fact, they were the only ones in the entire class who didn't get homework. Professor Sabri turned out to be and excellent and kind teacher even if he was a tad strict. At the end of the lesson Albus's needle still had a circular crimson head, Amy's was the perfect shape but still wooden and Tallulah's needle was entirely metal but still in the shape of a match stick.

When the bell rang the friends collected their things, walked outside and checked their timetables. It turned out they had defense against the dark arts with the Ravenclaws. The five friends followed the rest of the Gryffindor first years to the class room and every one including the teacher (a tall slim women named Professor Tammy) had just settled down when suddenly the door burst open and three flustered looking Ravenclaws tumbled in. "Sorry we're late Professor" blushed the girl in the middle "we got lost you se-" she began but was cut of when Tammy smiled gently and asked them not to let it happen again. The three girls took their seats right in front of the row where Albus, Scorpius, Rosie, Amy and Tallulah where sitting.

Albus was disappointed to find that this lesson was mostly theory work. He supposed Professor Tammy was ok but the the actual work was very tedious. However, Albus got on with it thinking that it would be worth it once he actually got to disarm somebody. The class was silent for a good twenty minutes until another interruption in the form a fifth year student knocking on the door with a rolled up bit of parchment appeared. Professor Tammy looked up and beckoned the fifth year towards her. She took the note from him, glanced at the note and promptly strode out of the room with a few brief instructions to stay quiet and keep working. The class instantly burst into chatter. Even Rosie and Scorpius stopped work for a minute and and for the first five minutes the class was only relatively noisy.

But time went on and Professor Tammy still hadn't returned. Just about everyone had finished the set work and the class was in general uproar. Students were out of their seats and leaning across desks. The noise was unbelievable. Albus, Rosie, Scorpius, Amy and Tallulah were all huddled together along with the three Ravenclaw girls from earlier. Albus found that all of them came from magical families except for Tina, a short girl of Asian decent with a cute face, dark fly-away hair and a bubbly personality that was almost infectious. The other girl's names were Lucy and Heather.

Albus found himself enjoying the three Ravenclaw's company more then he would have expected from complete strangers. It seemed to Albus that Lucy was much more than she appeared at first glance. Lucy was a slim, short girl with ivory skin, neat mahogany hair, large brown eyes and a cute button nose that hosted a small sprinkling of freckles. Overall Lucy looked completely harmless but upon talking to her Albus discovered a strong sense of justice, quick wit and polite sense of humor. He also detected a touch of cunningness and from then on decided to do his best not to displease the tiny Ravenclaw.

Heather's demeanor on the other hand, was slightly more analogous to her appearance. Heather was a quiet and gentle girl who moved with grace and spoke as if she carefully considered every word she said. Like Tina, Heather was Asian but whose frame was more willowy than plump and adorable. Heather had long undulating raven hair that was kept out of the way and over her shoulder in a lengthy side ponytail.

Albus found himself, Amy and Tina relaxing into a soothing conversation about Quidditch with Heather who happened to own an Aria Lux 5'900. Meanwhile, Tallulah, Scorpius and Rosie were having a very serious discussion with Lucy over magical politics. Tallulah was delighted to find that same-sex couples had been getting legally married in the wizarding world for decades (as she was the adopted daughter of two loving mothers) but was not-so-delighted to find that there was still a bit of prejudice of blood status left over from the war.

As even more time passed and Professor Tammy still hadn't returned, the new Gryffindors and Ravenclaws began to mingle and form small bonds that were the beginnings of friendship.

Unfortunately the now even larger group of eight were not the only ones making alliances of sorts. Albus nudged his cousin and looked pointedly at a collection of ratty looking boys lounging in the far corner of the room.

They appeared to be watching Albus's group while they muttered amongst themselves with furtive looks on their faces. All but one of them turned away when they noticed they had been caught. The one that kept staring had watery gray eyes with blond lashes that never seemed to blink. Bits of crust formed around the lids and heavy purple bags were present underneath them. Albus got a bit lost in the ugliness of them until he noticed the rest of the boy. His body was lumpy and out of proportion with long arms, stumpy legs and a bit of a stomach. His hair was a lanky and unkept shade of dirty blonde.

"He keeps on staring at Scorpius" whispered Rosie.

"Huh"? It was only till Rosie said it that Albus realized it was the truth. By now the rest of the group had began to notice the unwelcome staring as well. Tina, Lucy and Heather slipped back together, Rosie and Scorpius moved a bit closer to each other and Albus, Tallulah and Amy all stepped in front of the group.

"Can we help you"? Asked Albus cautiously. The boy opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the bell. This reminded Albus that Professor Tammy still hadn't returned. Huh. Anyway, Albus made to move towards him but the strange boy was out the door in a flash. The Gryffindors said a brief goodbye to their new Ravenclaw friends, stepped out of the classroom and made their way towards the great hall for lunch.

"Well, that was a weird lesson" blurted Scorpius. The girls muttered in agreement and Albus couldn't have agreed with the Malfoy more.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I can explain. No, seriously I mean it. OK, so there are a few reasons for the extreme lateness of this chapter. The main one being that that my internet has been screwing around with me lately (particularly on this website). There is also the fact that I have a pile of homework that grows at an alarming pace no matter how fast I finish it. :'( Anyway I am SO, SO SORRY (sigh,apologizing is becoming an awful habit/tradition of mine). Cudos to sweetstrawberrysmiles for the relentless nagging':I (dont worry it's a compliment, I could'nt have done it without you) **

**Enjoy**

"Compared to the first half, the rest of today is turning out is turning out to be much simpler..." thought Albus to himself. Charms was easy enough and Herbology was almost fun. Albus enjoyed flicking bits of dirt at Amy and Tallulah while Professor Longbottom wasn't looking but stopped once the girls retaliated by pegging an enormous mud ball at his head that they had been secretly working on under the table. Rosie and Scorpius kept a safe distance away from Tallulah, Amy and Albus for most of that lesson.

When the bell finally rang Albus, Amy and Tallulah had to trudge back up to Gryffindor tower to have a shower as they were utterly filthy from head to toe. This left Rosie and Scorpius to make their way to dinner on their own. Albus met the girls in the common room once they were all cleaned up and just as they opened the door to the great hall, they came face to face with a very sombre looking Rosie and a watery eyed Scorpius who was trying very hard to conceal his tears.

Amy tugged Albus back by his robes to let Rosie and Scorpius through the portrait and Tallulah pulled up a few squishy armchairs for everyone to sit in. Scorpius tucked his knees up under his chin and gazed at the fire in silence. Rosie took a seat between Albus and Scorpius and started to explain. "You remember that boy from this morning right?" She asked everyone. Albus's heart dropped. Yes, he remembered. The boy had been entirely too interested in Scorpius and not in a friendly way, he had been menacing. Everyone in the room murmured a quick "Yes" or "Mhmm" so Rosie continued. "Yes well, we bumped into him in the entrance hall because we both had our eyes on the timetable we were checking..." Rosie paused for a moment and glanced at Scorpius.

"And then what?" Tallulah pressed.  
"Well, um, the boy got all overly offended and aggressive" said Rosie.  
"He didn't hurt you did he?" yelped Albus. Scorpius pulled his eyes away from the fire and looked over to were Albus was sitting. "I wish he had" murmured Scorpius softly.  
Now Albus could see Rosie's eyes welling up as she watched a now dry-eyed Scorpius begin to speak. "If he'd just ruffed me up a little it would have been easy to report and there was a few people around who could have been witnesses."  
"What did he say then?" Asked Albus anxiously.  
"He talked about my evil ways, that I was going to hell for my families sins, that I was..." he paused and then spat out his next words as if they left a bitter taste on his tongue "unfit for a place in this school let alone the wizarding world. Needless to say he was referring to my families past, er, political, um, failures."  
"But that's ridiculous!" cried Albus "You can't choose your own parents!"  
For the first time that afternoon Amy spoke up. "We know that Al, but I doubt the entire year will be as understanding as us, it's easy to judge a person with notable differences if you don't know them that well. In this case, I'm assuming Scorpius's family has a bit of, well, not-so-pleasant history."

Albus noticed that Scorpius's hands had started to shake, his shoulders were rigid and his silvery-gray eyes were narrow and ablaze. Albus surprised himself by feeling a bit frightened, it was the first time he'd seen Scorpius truly angry and the effect was even more pronounced as the young aristocrat had been so teary only moments ago. "Look Scorpius" Amy began again softly "what happened was awful and wrong and completely unacceptable. Nobody should be allowed to have that happen to them and we feel for you, we really do." Tallulah was nodding her head earnestly at all this and when Amy finished she spoke up as well.  
"But you have to understand that even though its a horrible thing, it's also unfortunately common. I'm guessing you've had a relatively sheltered life coming from such a wealthy family and all, and the benefit of that will probably out way the cons in the long run but..."  
"What cons?" asked Scorpius quietly yet stiffly.  
"Well, you've never had anyone show you any ignorance have you?" stated Tallulah simply. Scorpius's brows furrowed at this and he slumped back into his chair.  
"You're both confusing me" he told them tiredly. Albus agreed, he didn't understand either. Suddenly he found himself sharing an exasperated look with the blonde and they both grinned quickly to each other.

By now Rosie had caught up on what the other girls were trying to get across to Scorpius. "I guess what the girls are trying to say is" she took a deep breath and looked straight in the eye "that you've never been bullied before which has amplified the effects of what happened today" Scorpius stared at her.  
"I'm not being bulli-" he started but was cut off when Albus finally decided to speak up.  
"Actually, mate, it does kind of look like it. Remember when he got all aggressive in defense? Well, that's twice now he's had a go at you. It kinda reminds me of this one kid in primary school." Albus's parents had sent him, James and Lily to the local primary school instead of homeschooling them like a normal magical family usually would. They had told Albus it was so he could be with kids his own age and learn good social skills. Albus just reckoned they couldn't be bothered to teach three kids seven years of basic math and literacy skills.

"Hmm, well he defiantly sounds like a bully" said Tallulah.  
"OK then" said Scorpius as he got up and stretched "fine then, I'm being bullied, I just won't let it bother me" he told them with an air of indifference and walked off to bed. Albus thought Scorpius had rather missed the point. He exchanged a look of surprise with the others. At that precise moment the doors of the portrait hole opened and the rest of the Gryffindors spilled into the common room.  
"Oh bloody hell" Albus swore.  
"What?" asked his cousin in a disapproving tone.  
"We missed out on dinner" Tallulah and Amy shot him filthy looks and Rosie actually slapped the back of his head before all three girls went off to bed muttering things like; "there's a time and a place..." and "no consideration..." and "some people..."

*  
Concealed in shadows on the staircase that lead to the boys dormitories, Scorpius listened to Albus grumble something about dinner and grinned to himself. He then heard the three girls hissing in disapproval at Albus's comments. Scorpius padded off to bed for real this time being quiet as possible so he didn't get caught. He found his four poster bed, drew the curtains, laid down with a tired "huff" and closed his eyes. Scorpius thought about what he had just heard and found that he couldn't bring himself to be angry with Al, for he was also extremely hungry and besides the little Malfoy heir had come to really quite like Albus Potter.


End file.
